PATIENT CHARTER (RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES)   Commitments from the Practice You will be treated with courtesy & respect You will have the choice to be seen by a male or female doctor for routine appointments (if available) You will have appropriate treatment prescribed and clearly explained You will be seen the same day if you have a medically urgent complaint, though you may not be able to see your usual doctor You will be referred to a consultant when your GP feels it necessary and be referred for a second opinion if both you and the GP agree this is desirable; this may be to another doctor/nurse within the practice All referrals will usually be sent within 1 working day unless an internal second opinion is sought first. You will have access your Health Records, including online access (subject to this facility being available through our clinical supplier) You will be offered appropriate advice by the Practice Team regarding keeping healthy You will be able to make suggestions to improve the practice and services we provide through feedback to the management team and/or the Practice Forum Your complaints will be investigated thoroughly and promptly as per NHS complaints procedure.  We endeavor to resolve complaints verbally but where a complaint requires investigation we will write to you with the outcome. All children will be offered immunisation. We recognise your need to discuss your concerns in private and will ensure privacy for consultations and confidentiality at all times.  If you have any special needs or difficulties please discuss them with the doctor or other member of staff and we will do our best to appropriate arrangements In the same way as patients can choose their doctor, the doctors reserve the right to accept or remove a patient from their list. This may happen if a patient is unable to work cooperatively with the Practice Your records, both written and computerised, will be kept secure and confidential at all times, in line with data protection guidelines, and NHS confidentiality policy Waiting times at the surgery are usually kept to a minimum, but delays are sometime unavoidable and you will be advised if there is a delay of more than 20 minutes, and you will be offered the choice of waiting or making an alternative appointment. Non-NHS work e.g. insurance forms, will not be treated as a priority over NHS medical care We will offer multiple channels to allow patients to book, check and cancel their appointments (subject to third party supply). This can be through telephone, online and smartphone apps. To provide a high level of medical care in accordance with the guidelines set down by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the National Service Frameworks. We will not discriminate on race, gender, social class, religion, sexual orientation or appearance , disability or medical condition. To protect a patient's own right to confidentiality. The patient will be treated with informed consent. To provide access to a patient's own medical record or other information held about them in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988. To request identification or checkable information to confirm the identity of the patient requesting confidential information. To refuse to retain patients on the medical list who are abusive or exhibit rage towards the Practice staff, including Pharmacy employees or other patients on the Practice premise Rights & Responsibilities of Patients You will treat practice staff with a courtesy and respect You will be a ‘patient’ patient You will present one problem for each appointment booked. Multiple problems being discussed in an appointment leads to increased waiting times for other patients but also reduces the time for the clinician to explain each of your problems. You will be on-time for appointments or notify us as soon as possible if they are unable to keep an appointment as this allows other patients to be seen and keeps waiting times down. You will submit repeat prescriptions in good time and allow 2 full working days when requesting a repeat prescription; repeat prescriptions will not be taken over the telephone (requests can be made by letter, email, via online request service, by visiting the practice and via the pharmacy;  this avoids the unnecessary blocking of telephone lines.) You will avoid ringing the practice for test results; most results are normal and, therefore, we will contact you if a doctor has  identified an abnormality.  You will only request a home visit if you are genuinely unable to come to the practice e.g. housebound, physically incapacitated.  If a visit is required please ring before 10am You will not expect a prescription every time you visit your GP - good advice is often the best medicine You will inform us if you change address or telephone number – we may need to contact you urgently Although we aim to offer you a choice of clinicians, and aim to offer continuity of care, you will accept that this is not always possible (eg holidays) and you will therefore be willing to see any clinician at the practice You will make allowances when waiting in the surgery for the fact that emergency cases will have to be given priority. You will understand that there is a charge fro non-NHS work e.g. holiday cancellation forms, insurance forms, and they will take up to two weeks to process as NHS work will always take priority You will take care of your own health by appropriate action, for example by not smoking, avoiding excessive alcohol or weight gain, eating sensibly and keeping active. If you have a long term illness or on repeat medications you will co-operate by attending reviews and following advice given to manage your condition. To be treated equally irrespective of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation or appearance, disability or medical condition. To request details of their medical record or other personal details held by the Practice, in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1988. To inform the Practice of any changes to their personal details including address, telephone or name changes. To observe the Practice's request that patients treat the staff and facilities with the respect they would expect to receive themselves. To inform the Practice as soon as possible if they are unable to attend a booked appointment.   TRAINING AND RESEARCH   This Practice is involved in the education and training of Medical Students and Practice Nurses.   From time to time such students or trainees will sit in with one of the Doctors or Nurses in order to further their educational studies. There may be occasions when the Doctor or Nurse will seek your permission for the student to participate in your consultation, either by taking a history of your symptoms or by carrying out a physical examination.   If you would prefer that a student or trainee did not take part in your consultation , please tell the Receptionist or the Doctor. You will not cause offence as we understand that some matters are sensitive and we would not wish to cause you embarrassment.     USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION   This Practice uses a computerised database to store personal details such as names, addresses, telephone numbers as well as details of  medical conditions and medications prescribed.   This information is used solely by the Doctors, Nurses and staff attached to this Practice for the benefit of its patients although, on some occasions we may pass on this information to specialist hospital services. As a patient you have the right to view information held about you, as set down in the Data Protection Act 1988. There may be a fee for this service and details can be obtained from the Practice Manager. (View our Privacy Policy)   From time to time Doctors and Nurses also participate in research projects set up by the Medical Research Council. Your consent will always be sought for use of any data held by the Practice. If you do not wish to participate in a study , it is your right to refuse.     Compliments, COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS   COMPLIMENTS   We appreciate when our patients let us know when we are doing well and how we have helped them. If you would like to let us know that we have done something well or wish to compliment our staff, please feel free to let them know personally. We are always happy to know what services our patients find useful or attributes that they value at the surgery.   Please consider joining our Patient Participation Group (PPG) to help us build on the good things we do.     COMPLAINTS   If a patient would like to make a complaint about the level of service, this can be done by meeting with, telephoning or writing to the Practice Manager/Administrator. In most circumstances patients should expect to receive a full response within 10 days of our receipt, unless the matter requires further investigation, in which case we undertake to keep our patient updated of progress.   Where patients feel that their complaint has not been resolved satisfactorily they may contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. (View our Complaint Leaflet)     SUGGESTIONS   We try to provide the best service possible and always welcome constructive comments about any aspect of our service.   If patients have suggestions on how we can improve or introduce new services we would appreciate their suggestions and feedback. We also ask that they consider joining our Patient Participation Group (PPG) to help us improve the areas we are weak, build on the areas we are good and help benefit other patients at the practice.   Walk-in wednesdays   We offer an open invitation every Wednesday between 10am and 11am for any patients that wish to meet with us to discuss any of the services at the practice. There is no appointment necessary, just come to reception and let them know you are here for "Walk-in Wednesday".   If the above time is not convenient, please ask to make appointment or leave a note in the comment/suggestion box.     Did Not Attend (DNA) Policy As a GP surgery, we are here to help our patients and try to provide an appointment system that reduces the amount of time taken to see a doctor or nurse. In the majority of cases our patients arrive for their appointments early and are seen with less than a 15 minute wait. However, a number of appointments per month are classed as ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA), i.e. the patient does not turn up for the appointment and does not contact the surgery in advance to cancel/change appointment, or they arrive too late for their appointment. The effect of these are: An increase in the waiting time for appointments Frustration for both staff and patients A waste of resources In order to minimise the occurrence of these DNA appointments we have implemented the following policy. When a patient fails to attend a pre-booked appointment on one occasion in the last 12 months, an informal warning letter will be sent to the patient, advising that they have missed an appointment and informing them of the importance of cancelling appointments if not needed. If a patient fails to attend a pre-booked appointment on more than one occasion in the last 12 months, an informal warning letter will be sent to the patient, advising them that a further occurrence could risk removal from the Practice. If the patient fails to attend another appointment, the matter will be discussed with senior management at the Practice and a majority agreement will be reached as to whether the patient will be removed from the Practice list. In which case a formal warning letter will be issued. Warning letters are valid for a period of 12 months. Removal based on warnings greater than 12 months old will be invalid in this case a further formal warning and period of grace will be required. The majority of our patients arrive early for their appointments, if you do not require your appointment, please let us know so that it can be given to someone else. Please note that you should give at least one day notice for a cancellation so that another patient can be offered it.   Chaperone Policy Faccini House Surgery is committed to providing you with a safe, clean and welcoming environment where your privacy and dignity are respected at all times. We understand that there may be times when you would like a chaperone to be present during an examination or procedure. You are entitled to have a chaperone present during your examination or procedure and can make a request for a chaperone to be present, our clinicians may also offer for a chaperone to be present. Our Emergency clinicians and Practice Nurses are able to provide you with a formal chaperone presence. You may wish to have a relative or friend present during your examination or procedure for support. We hope you will not be offended but we may recommend that a clinician is also present in their role as a formal chaperone. Where possible we will provide a formal chaperone during your appointment. There maybe times when this is not possible and it maybe necessary to reschedule your appointment.   REGISTRATION Policy   If you would like to register at the practice, you must reside within the catchment area of the practice which is roughly a 1 mile radius from the practice.   You will be required to confirm the residential address and provide a form of photo identification, these are not necessary for registration, but will be checked as soon after registration as possible.   It would be advisable to submit a copy of these documents with registration to make the application simpler.   To register at the practice, please complete the registration form and post to the practice with accompanying documentation.   Download Registration Application.